In the hotel rooms and boudoirs of Paris it has been a fraught week. An infestation of bedbugs in the French capital has even forced Eurostar to take extra precautionary measures amid numerous reports of nibbled calves and scratchy ankles. For thousands of travelling Irish supporters, nevertheless, the biggest threat of possible irritation is clad in blue and is itching to ruin their weekend.
Even if few are tipping Scotland to beat the world’s No 1-ranked side, unbeaten in this fixture since 2017, neither are they complete no-hopers. “Invincible? I wouldn’t go anywhere near that word,” cautioned James Lowe, the Irish wing, when asked if Ireland’s 16-Test winning streak made the outcome a relative formality. “Complacency is something that can’t creep into this group and it doesn’t.”
